Buying A Spare H-140?

[Marius]

Has anyone done this?

I think the 300 series looks cheap and ugly and is way too bulky for a music player (I have no interest in video).

As iRiver are apparently discontinuing the H-140 I guess now's the time to buy. At present, it's the dream player for me and I don't want to be left high and dry when it wears out, gets dropped, whatever.

I'm just worried that IRiver will get their act together and design an even better product than the H-140 in the next couple of years.

It's a hard decision.

Marius

[necroGL]

as technology gets better so will players this is a stupid idea as i got my Archos Jukebox 6000 almost 4 years back it was the lateist and greatist and i wouldn't want to change it then. When it gave up the ghost it was amazing to see how the DAP market had evolved and it had improved so you never know how much it will get better.
So in my mind buying 2 H140's now would be a waste of your hard earned cash

[Timmah]

I'm also wondering the same.

I'm near to buying a H-140 (a week or so!) but I dont want it to become obsolete by some super thin, elite H500 series or whatever!

[HotStuff2]

It will. But if/when your DAP "bites the dust", and isn't covered under warranty, you'll end up buying a cool NEW toy. It will do (most) everything your current DAP does, and probably more. And it will probably cost you as much then as buying a "spare" would now.

[snowcrash]

If it's an issue of buying an additional h140 (that you've already got one) then yeh, maybe a bit of a redundant act. But maybe depends on what u will use it for.

Technology is always changing though, and there will always be something better along fairly soonish. So I'd wait around if it's a second purchase, but if it's first one, the h140 is still a great buy

When it becomes obsolete, I'll use it as an external drive/backup for documents etc, 40g ain't bad, even in the future.

sc

[HotStuff2]

Originally Posted by snowcrash

When it becomes obsolete, I'll use it as an external drive/backup for documents etc, 40g ain't bad, even in the future.

Yeah, that should be just enough to hold Office 2k7.

[snowcrash]

bloated MS s/w, arrrrgh!!!!!!!!!!!!

sc

[FlameGrilled]

If you were in the same position i was in, where the DAP you had was so part of your day-to-day life that it was a big downer if it packed up permenantly (i.e. totally non-cost effective to fix, even by DIY methods), then there can be a lot said for having a spare example to hand.

This proved to be a sound move when i had my JB1's (bought one originally, obtained another at no cost). I eventually got rid of both way into their old-age periods at a profit (which goes against most concepts when it comes to technology) when they became redundant - but they were not exactly factory-fresh either (had been used on a daily basis as commericial two-channel recorders and also for emergency DAP use when the iMP's packed up).

But that bit, tells you something about why you gotta be rational over the move - as pointed out, it could well be that when you need a new one due to a premature DAP death, you could replace it with an equally sound modern replacement.

Then again, like with my old JB1's, you might find otherwise and have no cost-effective and equally worthy replacement options (not outside of semi-pro equipment circles, when it comes to recorders).

So there is some very sound logic behind having a spare, but it's the motivation behind getting a spare that is a candidate for serious thinking not just doing on a whim.

Personally, if you do go down that road, do it by getting a good used one - the price break (since i dont really forsee massive 'collectable' demand on the part of the iHP-1xx series) on a well-used by sound example vs end-of-line new examples could definately be in your favour for sheer spare purposes.

Also, it should be remembered that early examples (such as a good well-used but sound example would be most likely) are often the best ones - they are less prone to have been subject to progressive corner-cutting as happens to all late-release products.

An example of which include the moderate, not so hot, antishock performance and disc tolerence of the iMP-550. It's ok by most CDP standards (which are not overly great in the ASP department), but compared to the 250 and early-mid 350 CDP's, it's a bit of an embarassment. This may prove to be the case with the last-build iHP's, so if you do choose to seek a spare one, think early-mid release years not end-of-line builds.

[necroGL]

but USB 2.0 will be outdated though

[Pingmeister]

If you like your H140 that much then it would be worth it to buy a spare.

Regardless of how cheap or powerful new machines get if you are comfortable with the H140 and it does everything you want it to then it will likely serve you in the future just as well.

Like anything, just because newer technology is out does not mean it's better.

Of course, you're gonna be awfully sad if in a year or two 80GB DAPs that can actually shuffle music cost $75.

[Marius]

Originally Posted by Pingmeister

Of course, you're gonna be awfully sad if in a year or two 80GB DAPs that can actually shuffle music cost $75.

Aye, there's the rub.

[FlameGrilled]

It's the usual gamble, Pingmeister, and to be quite blunt about it... if you get too paranoid about such things, you are better off not bothering to even get into DAP's and other 'gadgets'.

I went through the future-proofing vs massive price drops over radio equipment and cellular radio equipment - to the extent that the over-analysis made me paranoid to choose a definately solution, but as a respected collegue reminded me about.., i could either sit back and wait indefinately for something that may never emerge.. or do the best deal i could at the time.

Sanity said, since i actually intended to use and exploit the kit, that having a good example that worked and was here... was more important that indefinate waiting and paranoid that a purchase deal would be wiped out in six months by massive price reductions.

'Gadgeteers' and 'its cool, i gotta have' people who never really exploit their 'toys' are the ones who suffer worse - and i know this well, as i got a lot of cheap priced kit off them over the years, they play silly catch-up games and i get the goods at a realistic price a few months later

[COOL888]

It would be silly to buy another H-140 if you don't use it at the moment. In a few months, I am sure much better DJ will come out, smaller and cheaper. If H340 does not get good feed back, Iriver might improve it into H140 like version of H340, just an imigination

[Dujodu]

FlameGrilled you speak wise words. I'm kind of borderline one of those "paranoid" types, always worried that the next great deal is right around the corner. I finally made the plunge and ordered an iHP-140 though, since the 3XX series didn't really offer anything I wanted that the 1xx series didn't have. I'm still afraid that some new $200 DAP player is going to come out in like a month that blows everything out of the water, but I guess that's the price I pay for being interested in one.

As long as my iHP-140 doesn't break in a year, I think I'll be a happy camper.